Choose Your Own Adventure Game

Add fun and the element of challenge to your nonlinear e-learnings

One of the primary complaints about linear e-learning designs is the lack of learner engagement. Sometimes known as “next-button slideshows”, the obvious solution to this lack of buy-in is to include integrated or menu based navigation options in the e-learning design that allow the user to move about as they see fit. However, you can take this concept a step further by adding gameplay elements and a branching storyline that turns the learning experience into a much more engaging venture.

In the example below, a database interface training was converted from a series of dry powerpoint presentations into a Noir Murder Mystery where the learner used the database to find embedded character accounts they can use to fill in the inductive and deductive gaps in a dark detective tale of intrigue and betrayal. The story eventually culminates (hopefully) in the successful apprehension of the murderer and his femme fatale co-conspirator, and the recovery of the victim’s life savings, to be held in trust for his long-lost but recently discovered daughter. Set to a dark jazz soundtrack and featuring multiple investigative avenues and consequential choices, the design is similar in form to a standard non-linear e-learning, but with the addition of a story, soundtrack, SFX, puzzles, and the required use of both inductive and deductive reasoning when accessing the database UI (mirroring the actual job requirement), the practical lesson functions instead as a game.